Justice Prathiba M Singh, Judge, Delhi High Court last week said that India needs to strengthen the enforcement and have better national and international cooperation to contain counterfeiting.

Speaking at a seminar on 'Communication, Coordination and Collaboration - Strengthening the fight against counterfeiting and smuggling', organised by FICCI CASCADE, Singh emphasized on the need for effective enforcement to enhance India’s economic development.

She stressed on the need for education, awareness and sensitization campaigns amongst consumer with special emphasis on the youth to deal with the problem of illicit trade.

The seminar discussed the importance of increased awareness on the hazards of counterfeiting and smuggling.

Ullas Kamath, Chairman, Karnataka State Council, FICCI said that counterfeiting and smuggling hurts industries, consumers, government and economies. "It is imperative to understand the need for safeguarding the rights of legitimate industry in developing competitiveness in various sectors of the economy," he said. 

Najib Shah, former Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and Think Tank Member, FICCI CASCADE said, "The realization of the damage counterfeiting causes is not appreciated. On the other hand, smuggling results in generation of unaccounted wealth and is the immediate trigger for criminal activities. We should aim to work towards creating an environment where people will want to be innovators and manufacturers and importers without fear of their work being plagiarized or having to compete with smugglers."

The seminar was organized in conjunction with National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. 

Professor Dr MK Ramesh, Vice-Chancellor, National Law School of India University said, "Tackling the menace of counterfeiting and smuggling should be of prime importance with zero defect and zero-effect on the environment. The image of India will shine globally if we strengthen our enforcement of laws, evolve strategies to address this issue and at the same time safeguard the intellect."

The Vice-Chancellor extended his support and ensured Law School's commitment to work with FICCI CASCADE in its fight against smuggling and counterfeiting.

As per FICCI CASCADE report released in 2015, the total loss to the government on account of illicit markets in just seven manufacturing sectors is Rs 39,239 crore.

Of the various sectors, the maximum revenue loss to the exchequer is attributed to tobacco products, estimating a revenue loss of Rs 9,139 crore, followed by mobile phones at Rs 6,705 crore and alcoholic beverages at Rs 6,309 crore.

According to a recent FICCI report, 'Illicit trade: Fueling Terror Financing and Organized Crime', counterfeiting is the second largest source of income for criminal activities such as terrorism, globally.

The report highlights that the total employment losses globally due to counterfeit and piracy stood at 2-2.6 million jobs in 2013 and is expected to rise to 4.2-5.4 million jobs in 2022, an increase of about 110 per cent.